Magic is Happening in Seaside

View from the Cliff, Seaside ©Lynne Buchanan

Tidal Pool ©Lynne Buchanan

The late afternoon light on the beach in Portland was amazing.  Such a drastic change from the bleak morning.  Amazing how changing the light and climate is here, and when the late day sun came out I couldn't stay inside any longer.  The flowers, glasses, clouds, and sand patterns were such a visual delight and could have been been over the top, but finding the right path into the scene created visual harmony.

The Illusion of a Path to Somewhere ©Lynne Buchanan

Zigzag to the Inlet ©Lynne Buchanan

The first photo looked like footprints to somewhere, but they were raised up instead of indented, a positive impression that tricked my mind.  The light lit up the zigzags patterns in the sand and made them vibrate.

Driftwood Drone ©Lynne Buchanan

Driftwood By the Sea ©Lynne Buchanan

Pointing to the Last Light ©Lynne Buchanan

The driftwood on the beach created shadows, lines and such drama with the light and shoreline.  Such fun to look at from different handles and engage with.

Divine Magic ©Lynne Buchanan

God rays always are always a welcome sight, especially when they are so evenly and perfectly spaced.  The way the energy from this orb that gives us fire to grow and evolve was just about to burst from the top of the cloud was such a fitting sight in this workshop with Flash Powder Projects, where we are all working to open to what it is that makes us create our art.  If I needed a sign, here it was...

Portland Has it All

Field of Wildflowers ©Lynne Buchanan

Lupine ©Lynne Buchanan

This was my first visit to Portland in the spring and it was so beautiful.  My friends drove me through the Columbia River Gorge to this incredible field by the side of the road that we wandered all over.   Flowers covered the field and for a moment I forgot about droughts and other problems facing our planet, although they said even here there was not enough snow this year.

Hood River Rocks ©Lynne Buchanan

The Alchemy of Water ©Lynne Buchanan

After the field, we drove on to a little overlook of the Hood River and climbed through the trees to the rocks.  Watching the water fall over and around the rocks, finding its path in the beautiful light was magical.  I especially liked studying fall into crevices and then spill out on the other side, transformed by the flow of water, something that we take fore granted but which we should cherish as the source of life that is it.

Mount Hood with Clouds Approaching ©Lynne Buchanan

There was snow on the top of the mountain and the trees looked so beautiful dusted in white as the 

dark ominous clouds hovered over our heads.

Under the Burnside Bridge ©Lynne Buchanan

Rainbow over the Hawthorne Bridge ©Lynne Buchanan

When we got back into town, I decided to walk up and down along the Willamette River.  A storm was approaching, which added a lot of drama and made the lighting conditions interesting.  First part of a rainbow appeared, then part of a second, and then when I continued past the Hawthorne Bridge, I saw the full rainbow over the bridge.  I was about to change my lens to the widest one, when the skies opened up and I had to take shelter.  

Waterfall, Portland Japanese Garden ©Lynne Buchanan

Japanese Maple ©Lynne Buchanan

The last day together, we returned to the  Portland Japanese Garden.  Last time I was there in the fall and there were no leaves on the Japanese Maple, nor were the plants in bloom.  It was so spectacular. The gardens were beautiful in the fall too, though the explosion of color in spring is quite different.  Looking forward to returning to Portland again soon!  You can experience every weather and lighting condition in a single day, which is quite unusual.

A Chance Meeting with Two Beautiful Women Right After I Saw a Double Rainbow

Double Rainbow ©Lynne Buchanan

To further the discussion of beauty started by a post of a Dove add showing women trying to decide whether they should walk through the average or the beautiful door, I would like to relate a “chance” meeting I had with an incredible handicapped woman and her friend, whom I met at a restaurant last night.  If I had been thinking, I would have asked if I could take their photographs.   Unfortunately, I was too moved to remember to do this.  Instead, you will have to connect with their light through my words.

After my friends in Portland had taken me to an amazing field with wildflowers and Mount Hood, they went home to rest.  I decided to walk along the river in downtown Portland since the clouds were so nice.  As I was in the Pacific Northwest, the weather inevitably changed.   Before the rain came down hard, first one and then a second rainbow appeared.  It was such an incredible sight that I walked around and made images of these rainbows from several vantage points. Then the sky opened up and I made for the closest building, which happened to be the Three Degrees restaurant.  I had been wondering where I was going to eat anyway, so I happily went in and sat at the bar and ordered a delicious Pistachio Loaf and a glass of wine.

A short while later, this woman entered and pulled up her wheelchair near me.  I smiled at her and went back to my food.  When I had finished eating, another woman came in with her dog.  The two were friends.  I moved my bag off the chair next to me, so the second lady could sit next to the woman in the wheelchair.  The second lady had the sweetest smile and her dog was very good.  It was a service dog, I later learned, but it was not wearing the vest and she didn’t make it behave like a service dog either.  She has a brain tumor, though I would never have known from speaking with her.  She was wearing colorful shoes that sparkled like her eyes and the three of us laughed and talked and I showed them a photograph of my own dog.  Then, the hostess asked the woman to leave, as her dog was not wearing the vest and it was an establishment that served food.  The woman smiled and said good-bye.  She told me she’d known that was going to happen, but she’d wanted to come in and say hello to her friend.  I was sorry to see her go.

The first woman told me that people often mistook the second woman for being homeless, but she wasn’t.  She was married to a wealthy attorney, but she had this brain tumor.  I said, I’d thought she was beautiful.  Her smile said it all.  Whether she was rich or poor or somebody or nobody had not even crossed my mind. 

Then the woman in the wheelchair started talking about all the work she did with people in crisis and she blew my mind.  Here was someone with no legs, totally impassioned, not complaining, and doing everything she could to help other people.  There was no fierceness or anger or any sign of a chip on her shoulder.  During our conversation, I learned she was widowed and had lost her brother and sister.  I would have expected to see a broken person, but she was more whole than most people I have met in my lifetime.  She too had an amazing smile and radiated kindness and compassion.  I shared with her my water advocacy work and we both discussed the environment and eventually the conversation turned to Native Americans and the greater appreciation indigenous peoples have for the earth.  Then the woman said that they, like the handicapped, are marginalized too.   Their voices are not heard either.  Always, it comes down to the loss of our voices and our courage to try and express ourselves even when we are being silenced and to do this with grace. 

She told me I was going to change the world.  I told her she already had.  When I finally got up to leave, I told her how beautiful she is as I gave her my card and a hug.  “Next time you are in Portland,” she said, “you have a place to stay if you don’t mind the couch.”   Then she told me the best way to walk back to the hotel, so I would be safe and not in danger of being mugged.

The entire walk back I reflected on how totally uplifted I felt around these two amazingly beautiful women, whom most of society would not even have noticed.  I also forgot all feelings of loneliness and lack of worth that I sometimes experience being a woman on her own over 50.  The soul connection I had experienced was so deep that I even felt beautiful myself.  This is the power of women uniting and sharing our voices for the benefit of all living beings, especially the marginalized, which in this day and age is everyone but the wealthiest individuals.  When we heed the call, and step into our true power that is beautiful and suddenly people begin appearing all around us who lift us higher. 

First Signs of Spring and Tending My Inner Spring

First Signs of Spring, Salt Lake ©Lynne Buchanan

When I was in Salt Lake City last week, the first signs of spring were in the foothills.  I went on a lovely hike with my cousin and his family and saw all the new growth on the trees, while in the background the mountains were still capped with snow, albeit a lot less than is desirable.  The drought and lack of snow pack will likely create water shortages soon.  Still, for the moment, the newly burgeoning leaves bespoke hope and regeneration and all the miracles of rebirth that are experienced everywhere in nature this time of year.  My heart always expands in the presence of unbounded life like this, where nature makes no apologies for displaying the energy that creates delicate yellow green leaves, all in full color amid soft and welcoming light.  Just being in the presence of such vibrant trees makes me want to put down my own protective armor and live fully in the moment.

Rocks with Lichen ©Lynne Buchanan

On the way down, we came to this beautiful spot with a pile or rocks in brilliant hues painted by the lichen.  Organic forces combined with the elements to create a masterpiece unimaginable to me until I saw it with my own eyes.  The textures were so inviting and I loved how the shape of the pile echoed the foothills in the background.  Nature paints such beautiful canvases and it is such an honor to stumble upon them.  Sometimes I just want to run from place to place taking it all in, finding sacredness everywhere I look and celebrating it through my awareness and the images I make, either within my own mind or through the lens.  

Other times, I feel as if I need to draw in again.  The act of shining out our energy and intentions to heal the earth and allowing ourselves to be expanded by her must be balanced by contracting and getting in touch with our own inner springs of inspiration and healing.

Inner Spring, Kanapaha ©Lynne Buchanan

For me, today was a day of connecting within.  After so much travel and work and all the arid climates I have been in, I was finally home in my own swampy jungle.  I took my beloved Takoda to Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, intelligent dog that he is this is one of his favorite places.  In lots of areas the sun was a bit too bright and forceful on my eyes, which preferred to be half closed and meditative today.  It suddenly dawned on me that what I needed was to connect with the little zen waterfall by the bridge. Watching it trickle from rock to rock made me think of the inner reservoir of energy within me.  It doesn't always have to be a raging fire, even if I am an Aries,  but there is always passion for my purpose and for connecting with others who understand the value of nature–how she teaches us how to turn two into one, flow around obstacles, wash away pain, and provide the movement that allows for transformation.  The quietude and serenity made my puppy and I so happy, as we sat on the smooth, cool rocks and listened to the gentle trickle.  The water enlivened the scene and brought life into the hardened places in my heart, the spots that haven't been allowed to feel because they lacked on object.  For a moment I loved water, and it was enough.  I said a silent prayer to keep the spring and rivers flowing, within and without.

Pointing the Way to Hope

Pointing the Way to Hope @Lynne Buchanan

Last night my mother and I watched this sunset on Sarasota Bay and I immediately sensed how symbolic it was of my experiences earlier that day on the Caloosahatchee River and touring John Paul's orange groves.  My mother and I arrived at Indian Beach along the bay about twenty minutes before sunset.  The cloud layer was rather heavy and for much of the time, there was no light emanating.  The tide was so low, I walked out into the bay anyway, mesmerized by the marker in the foreground which is typically only found on mountains and marks some significant point at which you have arrived.  Then suddenly, the sun peaked through the only hole in the clouds and cast a golden glow on the water.  The feeling that instantly came to me was one of hopefulness, despite all the dark clouds on the horizon.  With the right intentions, we can move forward to create a healthier earth and more peaceful environment.

This was such a fitting end to my day on the Caloosahatchee with John Paul, a very wise orange grove owner who graciously spent the day with me and explained all the new farming techniques he is employing, which I believe could benefit all types of growers.  Before we went to his groves, we kayaked on the Caloosahatchee, the river he grew up on.

Oxbow Near La  Belle ©Lynne Buchanan

This particular oxbow north of La Belle suggested the peaceful, more primitive beauty of the Caloosahatchee before it became so developed.  Many of the other oxbows are totally grown over or are covered with invasive Brazilian Peppers.  This one still had some palm trees and other natural growth.  John Paul said when he grew up they swam in the river all the time and even drank from it, something that would be very dangerous to to do now.  Leaving the natural oxbows is so important for the health of the river, as is restoring the ones that have been altered.  Nevertheless, that is not enough.  The water quality itself must be improved.

Abandoned Sailboat, Caloosahatchee River ©Lynne Buchanan

When I was on the river last, I also photographed an abandoned boat, which had been salvaged and then left again.  Traveling north from La Belle this time, I past a host of other boats that had been left to the elements. Notices were posted that the owners would be fined daily, but the boats had been there for months, with all identifying information removed.  Many were likely left over from Hurricane Charley.  Perhaps the owners got paid off by the insurance companies and bailed.  It just seemed so telling–a dead river dotted with dead boats.

An Explosion of Clouds, Palms and Invasive Plants ©Lynne Buchanan

Yet, with the reflections in the still water, the clouds, and the palms, I could understand why some might want to live along the river's edge.  However, having your lawn abut the land directly with fertilizer seeping into the river each time it rains or you water the lawn, is dangerous to the environment.  The overgrowth on this creek off the Caloosahatchee was so thick we got mired very soon after we started paddling up it.  

Immature Ibis Floating in Innocence ©Lynne Buchanan

Before we got stuck in the overgrowth, we came upon this beautiful immature ibis.  Since I started working on this project, I have kayaked parts of the Caloosahatchee River three times and I have rarely seen any birds, except near where the river reached the Gulf, so I was happy to see this young bird no matter how strange the water looked.

Invasive Plants with Bacteria ©Lynne Buchanan

A few hundred yards from where we saw the bird, we saw this horrible water.  I am not a scientist and am not fully versed on all invasive species and bacteria types, but when I saw this water I was completely certain that it was not something that was indicative of a healthy environment.  In fact, I was afraid to touch this water and was very careful to try and keep the drips from my oar out of the boat and off my skin.  I instantly felt worried about the bird and any other life forms that were trying to live along this creek. When people live in their homes with their doors locked and only see nature on television, they do not see what we are doing to her.  It is heartbreaking.

John Paul in his New Experimental Grove ©Lynne Buchanan

People often blame agriculture on the water quality problems, and they do contribute along with  lawns and asphalt runoff.  However, there are a few inspirational people out there like the orange grove owner John Paul, whom I spent the day with yesterday.  This is where I see the hope for our future and I am so deeply grateful to him for his vision and his desire to think out of the box and fix what is broken.  He is even an active member of the Caloosahatchee River Citzens Association.  He grew up on this river and wants to see it healthy again.  

John Paul walks the talk.  Orange grove owners in this area have seen an up to 70 percent decline in their crops of late due to greening.  John Paul believes it has a lot to do with drought, climate change, and taking too much water from the aquifer for development.  The water table all over Florida is dropping, and this is causing the roots of the trees to become unhealthy, he believes, and for this reason they are becoming more susceptible to bacteria and other stressors. Trees that used to live 50 years are now living 15-20 years and are less than half the size.  John Paul was worried and being a very intelligent well-traveled person, who spent time in the Peace Corps, he decided to try some experimental tactics.  One thing he imported to Florida was underground irrigation like they do in arid climates such as California.  The field above is a new high density field with underground irrigation that John Paul recently planted.  He dug into the soil and showed me how damp it was through many layers, unlike the very sandy earth in his older groves.  Even better, it allows the grower to control exactly how much water goes into the soil, versus surface watering which requires ditches that collect excess amounts of fertilizers and other nutrients and then dump them into the river, if they are not captured and cleaned.  John Paul does attempt to capture and re-use much of the water on his property.  However, since economic times have become so difficult due to greening and other issues, they have not been able to invest as much money in water quality measurement.

The Magic Tree ©Lynne Buchanan

The tree above is a year and a half old.  Typically trees this young do not produce fruit. However, the underground irrigation allowed the trees in this grove to thrive and become so healthy that they produced fruit way earlier than usual and copious amounts at that.  In addition, John Paul was also able to reduce his water consumption by 40% from the preceding year.  Many of the trees with above ground drip irrigation were suffering from greening, but not these trees.  The way of the future must be high density crops with low water usage, because we are running out of both land and water. Underground irrigation prevents loss of water from evaporation, as well as reducing the need for spraying pesticides because the trees are so much healthier to begin with.  This grove is 70 to 80 percent organic already and they are hoping to reduce pesticides more each year. John Paul has even imported Pongamia trees from India that are natural insecticides as well as being good sources of biodiesel fuel.  Additionally, if the orange trees are planted closer together and are smaller in size with more fruit, the costs of harvesting also decline because ladders are unnecessary and/or have to be moved less frequently and certainly not raised as high, which lowers workers compensation payments.  Though the upfront costs of underground irrigation are high, John Paul will likely make that back with higher producing, healthier crops in closer proximity that cost lest to harvest.

The population on this planet is increasing, and we still need food.  We cannot tell all farmers to cease production, but we need to find sustainable methods of farming that don't harm our water supply and the environment.  I applaud grove owners and farmers such as John Paul for trying to find the best way to utilize their land, grow nutritious, organic food and leave the smallest footprint possible.  He was willing to talk to me and participate in my upcoming museum exhibition, because he hopes this will open a dialog between all farmers so they can all learn from each other and discover better production methods.  Let communication and learning begin...

Coming Home

Tuscawilla Preserve in Springtime ©Lynne Buchanan

It is always such a delight to return to my home and the lovely prairie down the street, especially in springtime when the spiderwort are in bloom.  Here I can see life exploding in brilliant purplish blues when the blossoms are kissed by the sun and open to the world. To wander just a few feet into Tuscawilla Preserve makes me feel as though I am in another world, a world where for a moment I can escape from thoughts about the destruction of the planet and can again believe in rebirth.  Everywhere I look, the earth is carpeted with these delicate flowering plants.

Spiderwort Explosion ©Lynne Buchanan

Tuscawilla Trail ©Lynne Buchanan

The Spanish Moss draped over the sweeping and majestic live oak trees, the ferns, and the cabbage palms all create a beautiful ecosystem that the Native peoples who settled here must have found sacred, and for me it is sacred still...

Spiderwort Portrait ©Lynne Buchanan

I stop in awe at many of the individual expressions of these glorious flowers along the way, appreciating the angle at which their heads tilt, the rich bluish purple of their three petals, the yellow of their six anthers, the unopened buds that will unfurl next, and say prayers of gratitude that this beauty still exists within my earthly home.

Water, an Endangered Resource, and the Hand of Man

Terra Ceia Restoration ©Lynne Buchanan

We have all seen the frightening photographs of the drought in California and the effect that has had on rivers and waterways.  What we need to realize is that our waterways are suffering all over the country, even in Florida, which we have thought of as the water state for so long.  Our actions directly affect the state of our rivers and springs, which are our lifeblood.  We can choose to act benevolently and try to improve our individual behavior and monitor and clean up what gets dumped in, or we can continue to poison and pollute our water and suffer accordingly no matter what party we belong to.

The image above is part of the Terra Ceia Aquatic Buffer Preserves, just south of the Manatee County Line.  This is the largest habitat restoration on Tampa Bay and when it is complete it will be one of the largest in Florida.  I was so surprised when I arrived there and saw the tidal marshes and wetlands and meandering creeks further in.  I didn't know there was anywhere that had been returned so closely to its original state in Tampa Bay, which is highly developed in most places.  I saw all kinds of birds when I was there and I knew they appreciated how the hand of man had turned back destruction here and given them a place to feed and rest and breed.

Though this marsh looks relatively unspoiled and clean, the water a little further in from the bay itself had much more muck throughout it due to its greater stagnation that allowed pollutants to pool.  After I left and drove further up the coast, I came to a decommissioned phosphate mine that was still clearly leaching phosphorous into the water.  I was able to get close to the runoff while still being on public land and the image below shows what the water looked like.  No doubt this contributed to the point source pollution that was traveling down water to the restoration project.

Phosphate Runoff ©Lynne Buchanan

The water was brown and nasty looking throughout the length of the drainage ditch.  

Industry is not the only thing affecting our waterways.  Agriculture and people's lawns have an equally devastating impact.  A couple of months ago, I was kayaking on the Chassahowitzka River in Citrus County.  The river is one of the more unspoiled ones in the area in terms of shoreline.  The 5-mile long river is spring-fed and many birds, including the bald eagle, and the West Indian Manatee call it home.  I had heard so many wonderful things about it and from the shoreline up it was very beautiful, as was the water near the source of the springs.  However, I did not have to go far to find ailing water and I came across the greatest concentration of green slime I have seen anywhere yet.  

Chassahowitzka Muck ©Lynne Buchanan

This image was made right near the confluence of the Chassahowitzka and Baird Creek.  All three of the images will be at the "Water an Endangered Resource" opening at the Fogartyville Arts and Media Center tomorrow at 6pm.  At the opening, the film "Groundswell Rising" will also be shown.

I hope when people see these images, they will be motivated to examine their own output of toxic chemicals and fertilizers, so that in the future I can focus primarily on beautiful scenes once again. To think we allow our waterways to become so filled with slime is disconcerting and I feel if more people saw what was happening with their own eyes they would stand up for the environment.  I know I would rather leave a legacy of many restorations than choked rivers and streams.

Lead the Youth of Today Towards Stewardship of Our Future: What One Person's Kindness Can Mean

Jeff Coffin and Thomas, Right Before at Bela Flek's Concert and Right Before
Jazz Juvenocracy Left for their First European Tour

I was about to write a disturbing blog about the decimation of water in Florida on the eve of more voting on fracking.  Three of my images have been requested for an exhibition on the challenges facing water. My computer died last week and I am using an old one.  I was looking for the images I am submitting to the show among my downloads so I could write a blog, which I will write tomorrow, and I came across this photograph.  My heart about exploded.  What a moment this was.  I wanted to cry.  The gratitude I felt towards Jeff Coffin is beyond words.  This photograph is before I had any idea how to make an image and it was with a very old cellphone with awful resolution, but none of that matters.  The joy in both their eyes is incredible.

My son, Thomas Silverman, who is now pursuing a PhD in Mathematics at Brown University, is an excellent flute and saxophone player, just like Jeff Coffin.  Tommy had just completed all his college applications and the essay he wrote for the common application was all about the influence Jeff Coffin had on his life.  I knew how much he admired Jeff Coffin and Bela Flek, so I drove him up to Gainesville to see their concert.  Afterwards, we went up to the table to meet the musicians and buy some CD's.  I, being a somewhat over enthusiastic mother (sorry kids), said to Jeff Coffin, "You know my son wrote his college essay about what a great influence you had on his life." Thank goodness Jeff Coffin is a stellar role model and not an arrogant artist who doesn't think kids matter.   He couldn't believe he had been the subject of a college essay and was so honored.  Then he told Tommy to come behind the table with him and said I should take a picture.  He spontaneously did the thumbs up gesture and Tommy beamed form ear to ear.  Then he toldTommy all about the Monreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, where Jazz Juvencoracy would soon play.  (That invitation was all due to the help of Patrick Moraz–the keyboardist for Moody Blues and Yes and another incredible human and mentor).  In any case, I don't think I have ever seen Tommy so happy in his entire life.  

Looking at this photograph now, as we see our world catapulting out of control due to climate change we cant' speak about and water issues that threaten to drown or parch us, I immediately was struck with what influence we have over the next generation if we take a few moments to talk to them and reach out and support their rights to a better future.  Yesterday, I listened to Maggie Fox's acceptance speech of the award she was given in Colorado as the 2015 Honoree for Celebrating Conservation Women.  During her speech, she urged all environmental groups to establish more programs for youth.  In my own work, on the issues facing Florida's waterways, I am doing my best to engage college students across the state, and hopefully when the exhibition is finished, the museum will bring grade school children out to see it with interactive games and challenges.  Children are the future and we need their help as well as to help them...

I was not a photographer when I made the image of my son and Jeff Coffin, and Thomas has gone on to be a mathematician and not a musician (although the band he played with in Houston in college did record a great CD).  None of that matters.  What matters is that Jeff Coffin recognized Tommy as  a musician, as somehow who had a future, and he reached out to him and in just 10 minutes helped give Thomas the confidence to play across Europe and speak to the crowds in French like a totally empowered being.  This gift, I know, he will carry with him for the rest of his life.  Thank you Jeff Coffin.  I hope I live up to your wonderful example.

Spirit Cannot Be Imprisoned

Spirit Cannot Be Imprisoned ©Lynne Buchanan

Yellow Iris Emerging ©Lynne Buchanan

Last Easter my beautiful golden retriever, Kaylie, was dying.  She had cancer and I did not know it.  I went to the Easter Sunrise Service in my small town seeking solace and strength.  She passed on in my arms with my eldest son by my side.  In tribute to her beautiful spirit, I am writing this blog.

Yesterday, I went with my new beautiful spirit and Labradoodle, Takoda, which means friend to all, to Kanapaha Botanical Gardens to see the spring flowers.  It was walking with Kaylie in nature and discovering beautiful blossoms and other miracles of nature that I first found God/a higher power/the bigger energy or whatever you care to name it.  The name is not important.  As Matthew Fox says, God, or this spiritual immanence is so much bigger than that.  Just as there is not one way, there is not one name. Though spirit cannot be quantified or labeled or put in a box, it does not mean that ithe spiritual dimension has been stamped out. Try as our society might to banish spirituality from this world and operate on the basis of selfish greed, there is still something larger than all of us and when we open to these mysteries, so much is set free and the basis for true healing of ourselves and the planet can begin.

Though I believe there is hope and refuse to give up, no matter how dire the situation has become in my home State, in the Nation and the World at large, I believe it is time for us all to stand strong and peacefully join hands to show the unity of our desire to topple the old systems in power, which serve only the materialistic desires of a few wealthy individuals and corporations and do not serve the people or the environment they are entrusted with safeguarding.

In Florida, our supposed representatives refuse to ban fracking, they won't use the funds the people voted for to buy land and send the water south, they won't protect our rivers sufficiently from nitrogen and they allow too much water to be taken from these waterways and are draining the aquifer.  These problems are occurring around the country.  I know.  I have hiked to glaciers and followed rivers to where they have totally dried up and seen with my own eyes.  There are sinkholes all over North Florida and the entire State is built on limestone which is highly susceptible to saltwater intrusion and not very stable.  How in heaven's name is the earth supposed to withstand fracking here?  And can we honestly allow anymore toxins into our water?

Since I began my work with water, I have become a spiritual environmentalist who gives voice to the elements through my art and writing.  Here is the rub, as I see it.  I do not know of any truly spiritual person who does not believe that we are entrusted with caring for our planet.  Yet, many of these same people only believe in helping the planet by sending positive thoughts and positive energy. While I totally agree that this is essential and that we must heal ourselves and change society before any lasting reforms will stick, I have come to understand that we do have to engage in this broken world including voicing our objections to the status quo.

For years, I have considered myself apolitical.  I have not gone so far as to fail to vote, but other than going to the polls, I have basically closed my eyes and ears to what is going on.  It was just too depressing and hopeless, I thought.  The water issue in Florida and across the world is changing that for me.  This year, I attended two protests for the first time.  After the rally in Tallahassee to try and get political leaders to use the funds for Amendment I as promised, I met the lobbyist for the Sierra Club.  I thanked him for all he did and apologetically said I was apolitical.  He told me I should realize that if I took that stand I was basically giving the politicians in power cart blanche to make decisions for me.  I had spoken to many that day, and I can tell you abdicating my voice to these people is something I cannot in good conscience do any longer.

For spiritually motivated people, it goes against our grain to become angry, violent activists, which only serves to close the ears and minds of those whose opinions you want to change.  However, this does not mean we should throw up our hands and just think nice thoughts.  I believe our intentions do create the reality we want, but unfortunately, right now, there are a few people who are exercising so much power over the planet and they must be stopped somehow.  No matter how many of us see them in divine light as stepping out of ignorance and into caring for this entire interconnected web of life we inhabit, it does not seem to be happening.  Many of our political leaders and corporate moguls seem not to care what they do to the elements in the pursuit of wealth.  Some even think water is not a human right and that it is just another commodity that can be bought and sold for a profit at the expense of human lives.  This is not a world that I care to inhabit.

The spirit of life cannot be imprisoned.  No matter how many destructive acts we allow like fracking, no matter how many carcinogens we dump in the water, the earth keeps trying to heal itself and flowers keep trying to bloom.   The spirit of life and love and cooperation will rise again, and it will rise more quickly if we stand in unity and make our voices heard speaking from the deepest love in our hearts for the earth, our mother.